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HoUinger Corp. 

pH 8.5 



TJEiEl 




ITS ORIGIN, 

ITS valup:, its advantages, 
ITS oxji_.txji=l:e:3. 

ITS EXTRACTING PROCESS, 

BY/ 



El :]vr I n. IE 



L E! 1^1 1=^ ^ 3sr o 



ise©. 

IMPRIMERIE DE LA RENAISSANCE LOUISIANAISE, 

48 rue Conti, Nouvelle Orleans. 



GUARANTEIXTO GROW, 



ON THE BEST TERMS 
BY 

em:ile lefra.nc, 

RENAISSANCE LOUISIANAISE OFFICE, 
48 CONTI STREET, NEW ORLEANS. 



Almost two years of practical labor in introducing 
and cultivating the Ramie plants entitle Mr Lefranc 
to all patronage and confidence. He has several 
nurseries in full growing. 



«®* ALSO FOR SALE BY THE SAME ^®i 

lEFRASC & m RAMIE AND OTHER TEXTILES 



'\ 



The undQisigned, having transfered his Ramie agency to 
this general nurst?ry depot of the roots, informs the pnhlic 
that all communications or orders for roots or the fil>re extrac- 
ting Machine addreftsed to him, will Ix* promptly attended 
to from La Henaisnance LmiisianaUe office, 48, Conti street. 
New-Orleans. 

J BRUCKNER. 



• THE..- 

Xl. j£k JUX. X "SSS 



ITS ORIGIN, ITS VALUE, ITS ADYJVNTAGES, ITS CULTURE 
ITS EXTRACTING PROCESS. 



Tlie South being forced by necessity in the pursuit of some congeuia* 
culture which can b(^ profitably adapted to her actual system of redu- 
ced labor, and to her precarious ressources, the cultivation of Ramie 
is the only industry that can attain the object, and realize the profits 
of the past in applying itself to the actual conditions of the present. — 
Cotton in the South, is subjected to such uncertainties as to make its 
culture risky ; sugar requires so much capital that but few planters 
ar^ able to support it. 

Ramie alone is apt to become a general and democratic source of 
prosperity for all. It fears no danger, has no ennemy, requires little 
labor, needs but a small starting capital, propagates rapidly, sells high 
and moreover can beco?ne a monopoly for the Sovth, because our soil and 
climate are superior to any other for the growth of the plant. 

Its fibre quality is here finer, whiter, longer and stronger than even 
in the East Indies. When in its original laud, the stems grow to only 
.5 and G feet high ; in the Southern soil it rises up to 10 feet. That is 
the reason why the learned and sagacious botan-ist Koelzhas, out of ma- 
ny lands, selected our fertile States as the best field for these precious 
roots. 

Already, several plantations around ua are progressing to such an 
extent that they sell to neighbours plants enough to replace their 
first investment, and soon the New Orleans and New York markets 
will be open to the new textile. Then, fortunes will be made by the 
energetic and enterprising planters who will not have been afraid to 
go into the cheap expei-iment. 

It is believed that the actual price of 62 1|2 c. obtained for the fibre 
per pound will fall according to the extent of the production Such 
may be the result after a long time. But should it fall down to 25 c. 
it would be still remunerative and assuredly more profitable than any 
other culture. The question of this falling price is however very 
doubtful; it may also be th9,t, instead of decreasing, it will increase 
considerably. , For these reasons : With the production of such a fine 
and durable article and its introduction into the general wearing, con- 
sumption will certainly increase and create great demand all ovtr 
Europe and the American continent. Such a demand being applied 
to a relatively small center of production as Louisiana and two or three 
States around haviog the monopoly, prices will rather be mantained 
firm and ascending than otherwise. This simple result can be easily 
understood from the very fact that European and New York houses, 
having heard that the South is engaged in the cultivation of Ramie, ai e 
calling in advance for all that shall be produced. English markets 
are long since receiving this fibre from China and different sections of 
the East Indies. But the quantity thus received from so far a point 
is so contracted and irregular that the manufacturers never could fur- 
nish to general trade a sufficient stock to make of it an article o" ge- 
neral use- Only a few mills in England, Germany and France have 



— 2 — 

secretly manufactured the fibre by mixinpj it with Cotton or silk for 
some superior tissues. And generally the lace fabrics have used most 
of what Europe has imported. The cause of such limitation is in the 
insufficiency of the importation, and the cause of that scarcity is in 
the difficulty of extracting the fibre in India. 

So far, the (>rientals have not found the proper macinery for ex- 
tracting the textile from the lignous plant ; they do it by the primitive 
and slow process of a knife and of their fingers. The time expended 
in such manual labor gives two results which militate against the ex- 
porting trade : Shortness of the product for home consumption, and, 
consequently, elevation of price for the article, especially when it has 
to bear the high freight and insurance of a long voyage on the Ocean. 
The mother-cause of these difficulties to introduce the article into use 
and into general commerce ia removed and annihilated by a proper Ma- 
chine for extracting and cleaning the fibre of Ramie. This machine- 
ry is no longer wanted. We have it, as the reader will perceive it 
farther. 

Origin and Value. 

Eamie, scientifically called the " Urtica Utilis " belongs to the fami- 
ly of the " Urticea " which embraces a great variety of plants, of which 
the common nettle, the Hemp and the flax are the most generally 
known. 

Dr. Leclancher, surgeon on board of the french man-of-war la Fa- 
vorite, and Dr. fioxburg, the English botanist, were the first to call the 
attention of European industry to the value of this extraordinary fibrous 
plant. 

The fibre extracted from it when sufficiently cleane.d is perfectly 
white ; it has the brilliancy of silk, is finer than sea Island cotton, suj 
perior in strength to the best flax; and its durability is such, that the 
inhabitants of Java, says '• the Universal Dietionnary of Natural His- 
tory" give to this fibre the preference over all others for the manufactu- 
re of their dresses, which are extremely fine, as also for their nets, 
fish lines and ropes ; and the fibre is so tenious, according to the same au- 
thority, that from an experiment made upon 500 grammes [one pound] 
of it, a thread 9,300 metres [over 10,000 yards] was obtained. 

The Ramie plant originates from Java and has been extended since 
several centuries all over the southern section of Asia, Avhere it is cul- 
tivated and spun on a large scale for home consumption and export. 
The fine silky goods known under the name of ''Grass cloth" " China 
and Japanese silks" are nothing but Ramie or China-grass fabrics. 

For many years past, some European manufacturers have imported 
the raw material, that is [Ramie fibre in a crude state, and have suc- 
ceeded in producing excellent goods of Ramie, pure or mixed with cot- 
on and silk. These enterprising manufacturers have all made large 
fortunes by keeping the secret of their product and having the mono- 
poly of the new article. 

In 1862, the laborious botanist Benito Roelz introduced a few Ramie 
plants from Java into Mexico, at Santo Comapan, near Vera-Cruz. 

It succeeded very well. It was pi-opagating luxuriantly there when 
the fall of the Mexican Empire brought so much disorder in the coun- 
try that M. Roiilz had to leave the place. He came to New Orleans in 
1867 with a limited quantity of roots. 

M- Roelz appointed as his agent in NewO rleans the writer, editoij 



of the Renaissance Louisianaise, a french weekly paper particularly 
devoted to the progress of agriculture and industry. 

Through the influential medium of the Southern press, and espe- 
cially of this publication, which diffused the knowledge of the staple 
and demonstrated with pertinacity the advantages of its culture, Ra- 
mie was introduced in the South. Essays made in Louisiana, Missis- 
sippi, Texas, Alabama and Florida proved that it grows anywhere in 
warm latitudes. Whenever the earth does not freeze deeper than four 
inches, the plant grows continuously, yielding at least four crops a 
year ; each crop producing not less than 400 pounds of clear fibre per 
acre. ^ 

European markets are readily open at good prices for tlie product. 
Ramie fibre is actually quoted in Liverpool, in the circulars of Alexan- 
der McCras and other brokers, at the following rates : raw staple, 
from 9 to 12 cents per pound, in gold ; half crude, from 20 to 35 cts. ; 
finished and refined from 65 to 70 cts. 

Manufactories exist now in England, France, Germany, Belgium, 
where this fibre is used with the greatest success, either by itself, or 
mixed with cotton silk or wool ; and the annexed letter from Messrs. 
Wade and Sons, large manufacturers of Bradford. England, to the 
author of this pamphlet, speaks for itself and gives a fair idea of 
the value of the Ramie fibre : 

Bradford, Aug. 22, 1868 

E- Lefranc, Esq., Fdilor of the Renaissance Louisianaise 

Dear sir — We are in receipt of your favor of July 28. We enclose 
you sample of China grass as we buy it in London at from 45s. to 55s. 
per ton ; also sample of the same dressed, which is worth about 2s. 6d. 
per pound — tlie price being rather low at present, owing to our trade 
being somewhat depressed. 

We cannot judge your sample as to price. Ours, you will see, is 
much better got up than yours. We have used China-grass for many 
years, with increasing success, and have no doubt, in time it will be- 
come an important article of commerce. We enclose you samples of 
goods. We are making cotton warp of China-grass weft, also China- 
grass yarns. We shall at all times be most happy to give you any in- 
formation in our power, We are, sir, yours, truly, 

Joseph Wade & Sons. 

62 I[2 cts. in gold per pound for the best cleaned fibre, and 12 lj5 cts. 
for the raw article, leave room for intermediate grades at say: 25, 3() 
and 35 cts. gold per pound' which would certainly realize the most 
sanguine expectations of planters. 

Opinion of the Press. 

The Southern and even the Northern press are unanimous to recom- 
mend a prompt and large cultivation of the new plant. Here are a few 
extracts from news papers recommanding thg enterprise: 

We publish with great pleasure the letter of Joseph Wade and 
Sons of Bradford. England, to M. Lefranc, and the letter of that 
gentleman to ourselves on the subject of the ramie plant. We look 
with especial interest on this experiment, because the great object of 
the southern planter is now to obtain as much product from the natu- 
ral agencies of soil and climate, and as little from that most expensive 
agent of production, labor as possible. lu this they obey the law of 



free labor, whicli the world seems to prefer, and they but copy thd 
efforts of those who employ free labor to liberate themselves by ma- 
chinery and other agen^es fi'om an expensive and desagi-eable depen- 
d mce upon labor. 

Machinery will be, of course, necessary to prepare the ramie for 
use, and will enter much into the comparative cost of this and other 
textile staples. 

We have been favored by M. Lefranc with specimena of the raiiiie 
cloth, both of fine and medium texture. It is a fine and beautiful ar- 
ticle and looks as if it would wear like tin. We hope our planters 
will pursue the experiment. A correspondence \tith M. Lefranc will 
give them all the information necessary, and also we think enable 
them to secure " creole roots " for immediate use. 

(New Orleans Commercial Bulletin.) 

The Ramie and its 2^1'oducts. — Emile Lefranc, Esq., our able and 
courteous contemporary oi La Renaissance Louisianaise^has received 
some very beautiful samples from Messrs. Joseph Wade and Sons of 
Bradford, England, of tissue made from the Ramie plant. These fa- 
brics are exceedingly fine and light, are dyed yellow, blue and purple, 
and appear to unusually strong and durable. Wade and Sons import 
their Ramie fibre from the East under the name of "China grass. " 
When dressed, this fibre now has in the London market a value of 29. 
Od. per pound, equivalent to G2 li2 cents in gold; which is a splendid 
renumeration to the planter. Mr. A. Ferry, au intelligent ramie cul- 
tivator in the parish of St- James, estimates the average yield of clean 
fibre in Louisiana at fifteen hundred pounds to the acre. At this time 
there are pi'obably fifty agi-iculturists in different portions of the State 
who have given their attention to planting the ramie oi an extensive 
scale. Wherever information has been received from these gentlemen, 
the plant is reported as thriving admirably. It seems to flourish more 
vigourously and luxuriantly in our soil than even in the distant coun- 
try where it was first known. The only thing necessary to make New 
Orleans a great market for the ramie plant, in all its pi'ocasses, from 
the raw fibre to the finest tissues, are the erection of the requisite 
machinery and the more extended cultivation of the plant itself. 

This subject is one well worthy of careful investigation of land 
owners in both Louisiana and Mississippi. 

(Neic Orltans Crescent.) 

Wa are glad to learn that the experiments made in this State in the 
prediction of the ramie plant have proved entirely successful. Quite 
a number of planters have become interested in thie new textile article, 
and no doubt is entertained by them that in our soil an annual crop of 
1500 pounds per acre can be raised. If this estimate be at all reliable 
the crop must prove splendidly renumerative at the price offered in 
England— 2s. tid. per pound. We have been kindly furnished with 
specimens of ramie cloth, and in this connection the letter to our con- 
temporary of ihQ Htnaissance will prove interesting. 

' ''■ ' .' • ■' ' •'■'' {Neio Orleans Pidayune.) 

The New Orleans' Times, the Bee, the Rcpuhlican and almost 
every publication in the country speaks in the same laudatory and en- 
couraging terms of the ramie culture and product. Besides theses 
commondations, the govornmont has spoken also in favor of the new 



industry. The agricultural reports of ISfiC, 1807 and of 1808 give 
advice and informations encouraging the ramie culture. Every scien- 
tific and practical man, botanir-ts, economists, and manufacturers 
entreat the rural people to plant Ramie. 

ADVANTAGES OF THE RAMIE. 

Ramie yields a finer fibre than Sea Island Cotton, stronger than the 
best flax and as brilliant as Silk. 

Ramie require less labor that Cotton and its growth is perennial. 

Ramie is not destroyed by Caterpillars; the product of one acre of 
Ramie is equal to the profit of six acres of Cotton in its best crops. 

Ramie stands good for years and years, without replanting. 

Ramie is harvested three or four times a year. 

Ramie don't sufi'er from excess of rain, and withstands the longest 
drought without injury. 

Ramie is already naturalized in the Gulf States, and its adoption 
where Cotton has been cultivated, is pecured. 

Ramie will be the means of re-establishing the Southern prosperity 
through the rapid extension of the plant. 

Ramie may be taken from the field in the morning, and in a few 
hours after give a nice and fine fibre ready for market. 

The Ramie plant is a hardy and vigorous grower. It is started 
with root cuttings planted three inches, in the ground, in good loose 
soil ; can be propagated by layers, cuttings and divisions of the roof, 
with great rapidity, and can be multiplied at the rate of a hundred for 
one in every month. ■ ' " 

•The Ramie ban be planted and re-planted from the roots at any 
season of the year, and need not be renewed for many years and re- 
quires less labor than any other culture. 

Well rooted pkuts will produce at least 1500 lbs. per acre of fibre 
which sells now in London at G2 1[2 cents per pound in gold. 

The fibre of this plant is, when cleaned, purely white, far finer than 
than Cotton or Flax Linen, and .stronger than either. The plant in a 
warm latitude, is perennial, and the crops from it are taken like those 
of cane, by cutting it close to the ground; from the rattoons a new 
growth springs up at once. Rich sandy ground suits best, but it is 
so vigorous that it will do well anywhere, and the roots or pieces of 
roots and stalks can be used to increase the plantation in any land. 

The experiments of the eminent botanists Roxburgh, Belastier, 
Forbes, Leclancher and others satisfied them as it did Dr, Benito 
Roezl, that Ramie possessed the following advantages : 

The fibr« is stronger than that of the best European-hemp. 

That it is fifty per cent stronger and better than the Belgian ^flaxen 
cr linen fibre. 

That it can be spun as fine as that of flax, and that it is of double 
durability. ; , 

That the plant is a vigorous grower and will produce far the great- 
est amount of textile fibre of any plant hitherto known. 

In countries, where frosts are light, fall plantings can be done with 
sui much success as in spring. 

Planting in the fall of the year gives the plant the advantage of 
takii)g,^^^oot during the winter, and sprouting, early in the spring" 

; ; ' CULTIVATION OF THE RAMIE. 

The ground has to be plowed twelve inches deep and pulverized 
and elo»\ned of all weedy roots. Then work it in furrows four feet 



- 6 - 

apart; then place the roots obliquely [ \] 8 inches under the surface 
of the ground, one yard distant. The plant will then sprout out soon, 
and appear like bushes. As soon as they are six to eight inches high, 
the whole of these is to be bound down to the ground and covered witn 
parth, and nothing but the tops ought to be seen. This is to propagate 
the plant. 

After four or five weeks all the stems thus bedded will be over- 
grown with roots. These new young plants are to be cut off and 
transplanted or sent, when ripe, to the machine for extraction. Mean- 
while the mother plant will sprout again, to be operated on as at first. 

A little labor is required only for the first year, after which hardly 
any labor will be necessary, except for cutting, gathering and clean- 
ing, and even this does not amount to much. 

It can be propagated with the greatest rapidity from layers, cuttings 
and divisions of the roots. 

One acre planted with roots and properly propagated will produce 
sufficiently to plant the following year 200 acres. 

The caterpillars or other worms do it no harm, the fibre being inside 
of the bark of the stalks. 

The labor required even for the first year is less than that required 
for cotton and for sugar and by no means so pressing and risky. 

All lands are adapted to its culture, specially those where corn, cot- 
ton or sugar would grow; bnt in rich sandy soil, the profit would ne- 
cessarily be much greater. The bushes, plants and roots, can be un- 
rooted and removed easily from a piece of land to another ; and it 
does not affect, in the least, the quality of the soil. 

ITS NURSERY CULTURE. 

The culture of the Ramie being altogether a novelty in this country, 
it is necessary that some general rules should be established. 

The Ramie is planted from roots, not from seed. The roots for sale 
being so limited in number, and held at so high prices, it would be im- 
possible for planters to begin planting at once on a very large scale; 
nt 25 or 20 c. per root, it would require too large a capital to cultivate 
from the start on a large area of land, and planters are therefore com- 
pelled to begin with a few thousand roots, and make their own seed. 
Hence the subject of the (culture of the plant is necessarily divided 
into two parts : 

1st. — The culture on a small scale to propagate and provide for 
roots; 

2d. — The culture in the field to make crops of fibre. 

In both modes, whether on a small scale to make roots, or in the 
field at large, the land must be ploughed deeply ; the deeper, the bet- 
ter ; and with a plant like this, lasting years and years, the planter 
cannot be too particular in this respect ; JO to 12 inches in the field 
would not be too deep, and in the nursery, to provide for roots plough- 
ing to 15 and 20 inches would prove very profitable. 

After this is done, the ground must be pulverised and cleaned of 
all weedy roots. 

Then place the roots in the ground 3 inches deep, in furrows six 
feet apart, and in the furrows, the roots six feet from each other. 

Three weeks or a month after, the plant will begin to appear above 
the ground ; each root will produce on an average for the first growth 
from 10 to 15 stems ; these in the course of about a month, will be 
nearly 3 feet high ; at this period, they must all be Iftid on the ground 



and covered witli earth, 2 inches deep, leaving uncovered only the 2 
or 3 small loj) leaves. 30 days after, if the weather has been wet, 40, 
if dry, they will be perfectly rooted. 

The mother plant with the portion of rooted stems attached to it 
will then have a radiant diameter of nearly 4 feet. 

New ratoons or stems will immediately spring from the ground ; not 
on an averago of 10 or 15 as in the first growth, they will number this 
time 80 to 1 00 to each plant. 

These stems being so numerous, it would be impossible to lay them 
all in the ground ; cover them as many as practicable, in the same 
manner as with the first growth, leaving the balance to mature. 

When those left standing are ripe, and this will be known when they 
become of a dark brown color, cut them off from the plant close to 
the ground ; throw off all the upper <^part which may have remained 
green, and plant the dark brown portion in the rows of the field, 
lengthways, as the sugar cane, leaving however about 2 inches of the 
stem out of the ground. 

It will readily be perceived from the above remarks, with what ra- 
pidity the plant will propagate and may be spread over a large tract 
of land, and at a very little expense. The quantity of roots for plan- 
ting a nursery is of 2,500 per acre. 

We now come to the 

Culture op the plant in large fields. 

This may be resumed in a few general remarks. 

The land must be prepared as in the first instance, with the excep- 
tion that the ploughing is not required to be so deep, 10 to 12 inches 
will do, although, we repeat it, the deeper the ploughing, the better 
the crop, and this is the hardest of the labor, but it will amply renu- 
merate. 

The land being well ploughed and cleaned, the layers obtained from 
the mother plant, as already explained, must be planted 3 feet a part 
in rows, 3 or 4 feet distant from each other. When well rooted, the 
few stems of these layers must be cut off near the ground, to force 
the new ratoons to spring from the root, and four weeks after the en- 
tire field will be covered with fine green bushes of Ramie, which every 
two and a half months will yield crops of stems from which the ex- 
tracting machine will draw a fine white, silky fibre, each crop being 
of 4 or 5 hundred pounds to the acre. After the second crops, the field 
will be as thickly covered as a wheat field, and it will remain so for 
years. 

After a year the plant will have so many ratoons that other plants 
will have no room to vegetate. Even the Couch Grass (coco) will be 
suppressed by the strong v,^getation and shade of the Ramie. From 
this time, the cultivation will give very little trouble, except one 
ploughing between the rows early in the spring. 

The planting in the field ought to be done in the spring, but can 
be continued until late in October. Culture in large fields requires 
4000 roots per acre; close planting gives sraight stems and more fibres. 

FOREIGN TESTIMONIALS. 

Foreign countries, as France and England, have made attempts fo 
introduce the Ramie culture in their respective soil but, the intense 
cold and dryness of the atmosphere, have worked so against the^ ex- 
periment that all efforts have been unsuccessful. The plant requires, 



to give a good product, a mois^ and warm climate ;9,s. well as rich 
lands, as in our latitude. .. ■ ,'.,'A /'" ' ' 

The Scientific Society of Accliraatation, one of.tW most ecliinGnf' 
bodies of europeaa savans, has published in its annual i-epdrt some 
very interresting informations in regard to Eamie planting in Asia. 

M. Dabry, french consul, at Han-Keon, and correspondent of said 
Society, says that Urlica Nivca, or Ramie is largely cultivated in the 
Chinese provinces of Ilou-nan and of the Kang-si under the name of 
Tchout-ma. The planters do not raise it from seed, which is very 
long to grow, they operate with the stalks and roots laid in furrows of 
three inches deep. They place the roots as close as one foot apart, 'to 
have straight and thick stems. Their lands being rather poor and ex- 
hausted they put manure over (lie roots and succeed so well as to make 
three crops. They extract the fibre with their own hands in breakicg 
the stems and ia skinning the bark, which, put up in bundle, is bun- 
ged in a closed room, where it is dryed and ivhitened by sulphuc 
smoke. In the State of Queen's Land, Australia, says the report, the 
culture of China-Grass, Urtica-Nivea or Ramie, has given the most 
happy results. Though experiments have been made on a rather 
loose and careless system, the plant has grown with an extraordinary 
profusion. The government has encouraged the Ramie culture, but, 
so far, the absence of any mechanical power or contrivance to extrafet 
the fibre has been the drawback of the progress. The french goverr - 
ment has introduced the Ramie cultui'e in its oceanic islands, of which 
the Count de la Ronciere is the governing agent. We have been 
commissioned by the French consulate of New-Orleans, to send sever- 
al hundred roots thither. The Count .has had them planted with 
success in the Society Islands, where it propagates now very rapidly. 

From all quarters, as it will be noticed, there is reports concur- 
ring in proving the fact that the Ramie plant is a great source of 
wealth for the people, who like southerners, are privileged with a 
climate, a soil and mechanical means, most luckily adapted . to th€i 
new industry. Talent in labor, capital, spirit of enterprise and ge.ni.us, 
are neither wanting in our midst; better situated than the Qnentals, 
we will make quick progress in the use of this precious fibre. 

We have already solved all the agricultural problems and we are 
now going to solve the mechanical ones. We possess the machine so 
much wanted. 

THE MACHINERY. 

The agricultural problem of the plant being completly solved" witli 
success, we have now to solve the problem , of the "ex- 
tracting/ machinery which produces the fibre. Several common hemp 
breaking machines have been applied to the Ramie stems, but, so. far, 
have not given ample satisfaction. To make the Ramie stem 3'ield its 
rich fibre, we have constructed a machine of our own invention which 
answers to all the requirements of econom}^ pj-omptness and facility of 
operation. Experiments made Iiave proved the etfici! nc}- of this ma,' 
chine; it is a system of rollers disposed so as to break and clean a la,r- 
ge quantity of Ramie. It can be taken on the fir-Id and worked either 
by men or horse power as v/eil as by st^am. 

Its management consists in br-ngiug forth bunches of stems, and 
pushing them through the nolle rs, with sbtne partietilar ''directions 
wbich shall be given in a ^pecia prospectns. ',' ' "' '■ '/'■'''••' 

la proper time, ample iu'structions shall be publi?Bea"itiifte^atfft''t^te^ 



3 

general process for obtainiug a white and silky fibre out of the plant 
with this instrument. 

The writer will have this machine for sale at a price which shall 
not exceed $300. It shall be exhibited at the Louisiana State fair next 
April. 

EXTRACTS FROM THE AGRICULTURAL REPORT. 

OFFICIAL. 



AGRICULTURAL REPORT FOR 1865, pages 349 and 352. 

" Of course, the grass manufacture is yet in very few hands, of which 
Messrs. Wade are the most important ; but its development already, 
even within the last few month's, has beeu signally rapid. The mar- 
ket value of the raw material has, for some years past, maintained it- 
telf at the very high rate of about eighty pounds per ton, which price 
it is supposed, cannot be much lessened for many years to come* Two 
things are certain in this respect: one, that there is now, and will be, 
here a practically limitless market for all the raw grass that can be 
imported, at from £70 to £80 per ton ; the other, that under any fluc- 
tuations of the market, the material is intrinsically so valuable that it 
will always, in the future, command a price as high as that of cotton, 
and nearly or quite as high as that of worsted itself, if not even higher 

Here, then, is a great and increasing market for a certain vegetable 
production at a very high price. Id America we have, on the other 
hand, vast tracts of country, which being in the same latitude and 
with very much the same climate as those districts of China, of which 
the grass is native, we should be able to grow this production to great 
advantage. Why not, then, introduce its culture? I submit that these 
facts constitute a prima facie case for the very serious consideration 
both of the Agicultural Department at Washington and of our enter- 
prising planters and farmers throughout the South. 

Recent improvements in the manufacture of this fibre, as seen in 
specimens received from individuals in this country and Great-Britain, 
have excited considerable interest, and elicited inquiry ; in fact, the 
subject came before the Senate of the United States, in connection 
with a letter [enclosing samples of goods] of Mr. William H. Richard, 
of Boston, and a resolution was adopted calling upon the Senate Com- 
mittee on Agriculture to "investigate the subject of procuring the 
seed and cultivating the ''China-grass." 

AGRICULTURAL REPORT FOR 186G, page 21. 

"Experiments with this plant have resulted improving that it can be 
grown successfully here. 

AGRICULTURAL REPORT FOR 18G7, page 224. 

"The China-grass cloth has long been known to commerce, and the 
fibre was many years since brought to Europe, where it attracted the 
attention of manufacturers for its fineness, strength and beauty. It 
was found to be stronger than hemp, with the lustre of silk. At the 
British International Exposition of 1 862, several specimens from India, 
Assam and Malacca were exhibited. The report of that exhibition 
referred to these samples are attracting more attention than any other 
products of India, it stated that late experiments had shown that the 
fibre was succeptible of manufacture in a great variety of useful and. 
valuable fabrics." 



— 10 — 

EXTRACT 

FROM THE N. O Price Current December 23 1863. 

The following are answers to questions often asked about Ramie : 

Firstly — Ramie or China Grass is botanically named "Bochmivia 
Tenacessinia", of the order "Urticacia," so that no one need mistake 
it on inquiry. 

Secondly — It is neither unlike jute or hemp, but with a bolder, cris- 
per, yet more pliable fiber. 

Thirdly — To be g^ot up in proper way [ I speak of the raw material,] 
it should be dried, when the green becomes white. 

Fourthly — The value in a green State is £35 to £40 per ton of 2,240 
lbs. — white, £50 per ton — dressed for mixing with cotton and silk, 
£280 to £300 per ton. 

Fifthly — Applications. — Any Americans who have visited this side 
the last year or two may have seen our ladies wearing for morning and 
walking dresses what might appear to be a splendid French Lavender 
silk ! American ladies, however, would not fail to observe that though 
beautiful to the eye, it lacked the inherent value of silk to the touch, 
though superior in every way to cotton. Did any one of these Ame- 
rican visitors know that this silk like material owed its base to their 
own soil — that it was chiefly made from Ramie or China. grass — and is 
no other in Europe than the imitated, and so called "Japanese silk ?" 

The Liverpool circular of Alexander S. Macrae of the 25th ultimo, 
contains information of much interest value to parties who have alrea- 
dy commenced the culture of the Ramie plant, and to those also who 
contemplate doing so. Cousidering the comparatively small amount of 
labor and expense attendant upon the cultivation of the Ramie as com- 
pared with other crops, and the large profits which it afi"ords, it would 
•appear a little strange, unless some attention is given to the subject, 
that there has not been more progress made in cultivating it in the ex- 
treme Southern border, and particularly in our immediate vicinity. 
That the Ramie will, in time, be largely and profitably cultivated in the 
States bordering on the Gulf, we think there can be very little question, 
and the reason, we think, why its culture has not been more extensive- 
ly attempted is owing to the fact that it was introduced to the public 
at an unfavorable period. Since the war the necessities of our people 
have been so great that few could afford either the time or the means 
to experiment, or to embark in any occupation which was not well un- 
derstood, and certain to yield something to live upon. 

The situation, even yet, is not greatly changed in this respect but 
still the impi-ovement is such that many of our people will probably be 
induced to devote a portion of their lands hereafter to the cultivation 
of the Ramie Should this course be pursued, it will necessarily lead 
to the erection of suitable machinery for cleaning and preparing the fi- 
Ijre of the Ramie for market, and once this progress is made, and the 
businesss is found to be half as profitable as it is claimed that it will 
be, there will be an increase of its cultivation even should the money 
value per acre of Ramie be no more, or even something less than is 
yielded by cotton, the advantage being so greatly in favor of the for- 
mer on account of the fewer laborers required, a most important con- 
-fiideration now, and destined to be still more so in the future. 

The plant grows splendidly well in Louisiana, and it can be seen in 
all its luxuriancy at my different nurseries around New Orleans. 



— 11 — 

It has been said that the Ramie, once introduced in a land, cannot 
be removed and that it becomes a nuisance. This is entirely errone- 
ous; th^ Ramie bushes can be unrooted with the greatest ease and the 
roots extirpated by ploughing as well as any other plant— Sugar cane, 
Corn, Cotton, &, &, &. 

We conclude this fair statement of facts by assuring that the results 
of over one year of constant experiments have proved that there is no 
exageration in the promises of this Pamphlet. 

PLANTING- AND HARVESTING ILLUSTRATED. 




The above figure represents 
a laborer placing the roots in 
the furrow. Tne root, fresh and 
wet, is placed in an oblique pos- 
ition in the middle of the line 




The above represents the same 



The land must always be moist man in an erect position. He covers 
and fine. the root with fine ground by jerks 

of his feet. 




This figure represents the laying pro- 
cess. A man keeps the stems down to 
the ground and another bury them under 
two or three inches of dirt. 



— 12 — 




The above shows the mowing and harvesting labor ; the maohine 
cuts ; the men bundle and convey the stems as hay or wheat. 




The above shows the breaking process by machinery. The first 
operator directs the stems by bunches to the rollers : the second re- 
ceives the cleaned fibre and the third sends it towards the washing 
tubs, where the glutinous and woody matter is dissolved or disintegra- 
ted from the textile. 



^ 



E. LEFRANC. 
Editor of "La Renaissance Louisianaise. " 

New Orleans. 



Rentissance Print, 48, Conti Street. 



m liMii 



SA CULTUBE, SA VALEUR. 



La culture du rami^ est reconnue comme devar.«, fetre une nouvelle source 
de richesse pour le Sud. EHe ne convieiit qu'aux clinmts cliauds et aux ter- 
res humides; nous en pourrons tirer un monopole durable. Le travail de 
cette iDDovation est facile et non dispendieux. En voici I'instruction en 
peu de mots. 

Plantez la racihe k one yarde carree d'espace, comme on plante la pomme 
de terre; les premieres pousses seront, en deux oii trois mois. assez hautes 
pour etre renfouies. Marcottez-les et laissez jfaire souche. Si vous voulez 
propager, faites des boutures avec la seconde pousse, des que les tiges auront 
pris corps et quelques pieds de hauteur. Chaque bout de cinq k six pouees 
suffira pour faire un nouveau pied. Lorsque la souche sera assez epaisse 
pour rapprocher sa voisine, deterrez et faites du plant avec les fragments dea 
racines extraites. Le sol louisianais est si propice a la reproduction que 
cent pieds ont reproduit jusqu'a cent mille pieds par an. On commence h 
cr/uper des que les tiges raurissent; ce qui s'annonce par I'alteration des 
ftuilles et par la noircissure de i'ecorce 

Le ramie est une ortie, et sa fibre etant contenue dans I'ecorce comme le 
chanvre, les chenilles ni les insectes rongeurs ne peuvent I'atteindre. 

Le precede de I'extraction par la machine consiste a presenter en bras- 
sees les tiges a la denture du cylindre tournant La force d'un homme suEBt k 
la rotation. Une seule personne peut I'alimenter. La fibre collante extraite 
de la tige degage sa gomme et ses matieres vegetales dans un bain de les- 
sive. Elle blanchit et prend sa forme de filasse en sechant. Le rendement 
est, en Louisiane, d'au moins 1,.500 livres de fibre par arpent 

II est prouve que la culture du ramie donne plus de profit et exige moins 
de travail qu'aucune autre recolte. La fibre vaut actuellement 60 cts. la li 
vre en Europe ; des maisons du Nord ont retenu d'avance tout ce qui se 
produira. L'immense consommation qui s'en est fait en Chine et aux Indes 
est un sur garantde sa valeur commerciale. 

liCs ftuilles et la puipe des tiges broyees font une excellente matiero 
pour la fabrication du papier. 

D^pot h la RENAISSANCE LOUISIANAISE, 
48 Rue Cohti. 

Prix du plant : $25 le cent de pieds, on $200 le mille 

A VE>DRE— LA MACHINE k extraire la fibre du 
Ramie ou de tout autre textile t\ I'c^tat vert. 
IF'rizsi: S300. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



a aaok q^i r-7q "x 




3P O 3R^ ^ jBLJLj. 

ON THE BEST TERMS 
IJ Y 

E ivr I T^ s L E F R ^v isr c , 

RENAISSAJSCE LOUISlAyjIS IC OFFICE, 
48 CO NT I STREET, NEW ORLEANS. 



Almost two years of practical labor in introducing- 
and cultivating the Ramie plants entitle Mr. Lefranc 
to all patronage and confidence. He has several 



nurseries in full growing. 



S^- ALSO FOR SALE BY THE SAMK -^a 

. LEFRANC d m m\l A\fl OTHER TE\TiL' S 

EXTHAOTIHO MAOHIHE 



A 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



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